Where exactly to mount fishfinder's transducer on transom?
In the fall, I bought a FF Garmin 120 and been procrastinating all
winter regarding installing it. Now I want to put the boat back in the
water so it is time to get on with it !I am looking at the instruction sheet but because it is in 2D instead
of 3D, it is hard to tell from the picture where the tranducer should
be (relative to the bottom of the transom). Should it be:
1) flush with the bottom of the transom?
2) an inch or more above the bottom of the transom?
3) an inch or more below the bottom of the transom? Some of the guidelines provided:
"The transducer has to be located in clean (non-turbulent water). The
transducer should be located as near the centre of the boat as
possible" "Mount the tranducer parallel with the water line" (this is one that I
find confusing since the picture with this caption points to the
bottomof the transom). "Make sure the transducer is below water level when the boat is on
plane at full speed" (Make sense!) Comments? Andre |
Melandre
Apr 5
2006
|
| Mount the bottom of the xducer flush to the bottom and tilted down 5
degrees. Must be parallel to the transom waterline. Ideally 2 feet or more
from the prop centerline. Must be under water at all times. Must not be in
the path of turbulent water.
Jim
"Melandre" <melandre@gmail.com> wrote in message |
JIMinFL
Apr 5
|
| I went here, and the instructions seem perfectly clear:
http://www.garmin.com/manuals/FishFinder120_Installation_QuickStartGuide.pdf And, it's exactly how I mounted mine, parallel to the water line, and
the corner of the transducer just below the lowest point on the
transom, ie: the one corner of the transducer that is toward the center
of the boat needs to be just below the bottom of the transom, again,
just exactly like the picture in the link above. |
basskisser
Apr 5
|
| Sometimes (as with my boat), it's not possible to find a spot that's not |
Doug
Apr 5
|
| Get a transducer mounting plate first, or make one.
http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=9153&hvarTarget=search&cmCat=SearchResults
item number 38-537-954-00 is one. Cabelas probably carries one also. Over
the years I have changed FF brands a couple of times. Mount parallel to
the water line, normally on the right side of the boat. Make sure the front
of the transducer is a little higher than the back of the ducer, maybe 1/8"
and the complete transducer is below the bottom of the boat. And not in
line with any of the strakes. |
Calif
Apr 5
|
| Thanks for all the responses already (that ws quick!). I think I get
the idea as to where to mount it which brings me to my next question: I am a bit freaked out about putting screws in the transom below the
water line. Is it possible to attach (with screws) the transducer to a
hard plastic (like a thin cutting board as someone suggested) and then
use above water/below water marine clue to secure it to the transom?
Or am I just suffering from unjustified paranoia (hey! it is a brand
new 2006 boat so not keen about putting holes in it!). :) Andre |
Melandre
Apr 5
|
| Unjustified paranoia. Get to a boat store and pick up some nice caulking
stuff in a tube. Make the screw holes slightly larger than the screws so the
shaft of each screw can be completely surrounded in caulk. I did this 6
years ago through my aluminum hull, and there's been absolutely no leaking. |
Doug
Apr 5
|
| Don't be freaked out about it. The screws are small, so the hole is
small. When you predrill the hole, for the self tapping screw, don't
drill too big, fill the hole with caulk before you put the screw in. It
will never leak. |
basskisser
Apr 5
|
| I didn't see him mention what type of hull he had. If it's single-layer
aluminum, for instance, he might want to use small bolts with acorn nuts and
the appropriate washers. Otherwise, he's going to have sharp screws sticking
inward and snagging on things, or feet. |
Doug
Apr 5
|
| On the off chance that your boat hull is fiber glass, mount it inside on the
hull. That method is far superior to any transom mount. It will NOT work with a metal hull. |
Bishoop
Apr 5
|
| Don't forget to tell him that's will need a different transducer for this
method. |
Doug
Apr 5
|
| Inside??? Isn't it supposed to touch the water somehow? Does the
accuracy suffer? The boat has a fiberglass haul: it is just your
typical 18" Bayliner runabout with I/O Mercruiser... Nothing fancy.
Andre |
Melandre
Apr 5
|
| On my last boat, I mounted it inside and it worked great. You *may* need a
different type transducer though...read the instructions. If you want to mount it inside, it's best to test a few locations first to
see what works best. I did this by filling the bilge w/ enough water to
cover the unit, then I weighed it down with some ankle weights. Go cruising
and see how it works. If need be, move it to a new location and try again.
Once you find a nice spot, mark it and pump out the water. Mounting it is
done with SLOW set epoxy, and a large amount of it. It's important that you
use slow set (4 hrs or longer) as it will release any air bubbles caught in
the mix during the slow curing time. If there's any air between the
transducer or the hull, accuracy will suffer or it won't work at all. That
is why you need to submerse it in water in the bilge while testing. Hope that helps a bit. --Mike "Melandre" <melandre@gmail.com> wrote in message |
MGG
Apr 5
|
| Good tutorial on installing the transducer inside a fiber glass hull. I highly recommend installing it using that technique. One caveat though, if the transducer is equipped with a temperature sensing
device it will measure the temp of the hull surface it's attached to, not
the water. |
Bishoop
Apr 5
|
| device it will measure the temp of the hull surface it's attached to, not
the water. << Excellent point. --Mike |
MGG
Apr 6
|
